Bathurst 1000 lineup revealed
Thursday 03 October, 2019
Photos: Revved Photography
The 2019 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 entry list has been confirmed with two wildcard entries to join the regular Virgin Australia Supercars Championship’s 24 cars for the great race.
It’s the first time in two years a wildcard has run in Mount Panorama with Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) adding another car to their assault, while Kostecki Brothers Racing return to the championship after a debut year in 2018.
Given driving responsibilities for WAU's third entry in their unused Holden ZB Commodore are IndyCar stars Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliff, with the highly experienced duo to make their Bathurst debuts in the process.
It’s not the first time Hinchcliff has competed in Supercars though, the Canadian last appearing down under in 2012 on the Gold Coast with Garry Rogers Motorsport.
The other wildcard entry comes in the form of Kostecki Brothers Racing after a solid few years in Dunlop Super2 Series and the Western Australian outfit has confirmed its place in the three round 2019 PIRTEK Enduro Cup.
For its debut on Australia’s biggest stage this month, the team has appointed multiple Bathurst and Supercars Champion team manager Rob Crawford along with drivers Brodie and Jake Kostecki, the latter currently sitting in fifth place in the Super2 standings.
Headlining the other notable entries is Craig Lowndes, the seven-time winner to partner up with Jamie Whincup in what will be his first hitout behind the wheel since retiring as a full-time driver at the end of last year.
His 2018 winning co-driver Steve Richards will share driving responsibilities with Mark Winterbottom as the 2015 Supercars champion looks for his first Bathurst win since 2013.
As the first co-driver to be announced this year, Bryce Fullwood has also changed teams, moving from Todd Hazelwood and Matt Stone Racing (MSR) to Kelly Racing alongside Andre Heimgartner in the Nissan Altima.
Fullwood's move left MSR looking for a co-driver and the team opted to go with Jack Smith, the 20-year-old coming into the line-up having already competing as a wildcard in 2019 with Brad Jones Racing.
Experienced endurance veteran Garth Tander will partner up with Shane van Gisbergen for the PIRTEK Endurance Cup in the second Triple Eight car after losing his seat at Garry Rogers Motorsport for the 2019 season.
Click here to view the full grid.
The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 takes place at 11:30am on Sunday 13 October AEST.